The Hindu : Front Page : Curtains down on the ‘fiesta’

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Sunday, Oct 28, 2007
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Curtains down on the ‘fiesta’

Meera Mohanty

“The Rome Film Festival was for real lovers of cinema”

— Photo: AFP

DASHING DUO: Director Anuraq Kashyap (right) and Actor John Abraham pose before the screening of ‘No Smoking’ during the second edition of the Rome Film Festival.

ROME: As the second edition of the Rome Film Festival ended on Saturday, the city will go to sleep not dreaming of Hollywood stars, but its own two sweethearts, Sophia Loren and Monica Bellucci.

The Reese Witherspoons, Robert Redfords Tom Cruises and Cate Blanchetts, however, had their moments on the red carpet. The festival, the brainchild of city Mayor Walter Veltroni, pitting itself against the 75-year-old Venice Film Festival, is more of a ‘fiesta,’ says Goffredo Bettini, President of the festival. As acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, with a movie after nearly a decade, proclaimed, the Rome Fest was for real lovers of cinema.

Movie stars were everywhere — pictures of George Clooney, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Johnny Depp were laid out on the sidewalks of Via Veneto; a Stanley Kubrick retrospective was on at the Palace of Exhibitions; Matt Damon as Jason Bourne from ‘Bourne Ultimatum’ glared down from the back of buses that blinked “Rome Film Festival route.”

The city’s famous sidewalk cafés hung up black and white pictures of Fellini and a decades-younger Sophia Loren. Gregory Peck riding behind Audrey Hepburn on a Vespa was the most popular calendar cover.

The city had opened its cobbled streets paved with Gucci, Armani and Valentino boutiques, its famous piazzas and its arms wide open to the world of cinema, including India, which was the country of honour at the two-year-old festival.

However, Indian stars were conspicuous by their absence. Aishwarya Rai, who had made it to the cover of an Italian fashion magazine which was anticipating her visit, was not there; neither were Abhishek Bachchan or Preity Zinta.

John Abraham turned up for the screening of the Anurag Kashyap-directed movie ‘No Smoking’ and squeezed some space for himself in the Italian press on a day when Tom Cruise and Robert Redford also walked the red carpet for their movie ‘Lions for Lambs.’

“The Indian star famous for his beautiful physique,” was one tabloid’s description of John. Soha Ali Khan, present a few days earlier for the Sudhir Mishra-directed film ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’, expressed surprise, “Forget stars,” she said, “I believe I am the only actor here.”

India-born Shekhar Kapoor with his ‘Elizabeth’ on his arm, may not have been representing India as much as Hollywood at the much anticipated premiere of his sequel, ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’. He nonetheless made a lone Indian proud enough to attempt out-screaming hundreds of paparazzi vying for lead actress Cate Blanchett’s attention with a desperate cry “Shekhar!”

A delegation led by FICCI Secretary-General Amit Mitra and Entertainment Chairman committee director Yash Chopra, who was honoured with a special award from the Italian Government, however, saved the day. It pulled out its trump card — Sandokan, as actor Kabir Bedi is better known in Italy from a hugely popular character he played in a television series now in the 70s.

The cab driver boasted of how often he had driven the man, respectable middle-aged government officials admitted to having nurtured crushes on Sandokan during their youth, and the Italian media begged for interviews. And the man, described as a “true Indian ambassador” rose to the occasion and announced a new facilitating company Italia-India Consulenza Cinematografica. Indo-Italian co productions such as director Gautam Ghosh’s and Anindyaa Pauls’ next films and DQ Entertainment’s new animation series are already on the floor.

The delegation comprised Ramesh Prasad, Managing Director, Prasad Labs, Kiran V. Shantaram, Supran Sen from the Film Television Producers Guild of India, amongst others. But a dash of glamour is as essential to a film fest, as cheese to pizza, and the Indian menu unfortunately did not include that.

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